Arch support



April 26, 1960 v. FloRlLLo ARCH SUPPORT Filed May 28, 1958 nlllllllllll vllvd.

United Staates Patent C ARCH SUPPORT vincent sienne, Husson, N.Y. Aangenaam May 2s, 195s, serial No. 738,334

i claim. (ci. .3s-3.5)

My invention relates to arch supports and shoes equipped with arch supports. t

Many people suffer from some foot disability. The muscles of the outer arch do not get any exercise from the shoes which are worn today and one of the objects of my invention is so to design an arch support that it will exercise these muscles, and the weight of the body will be evenly distributed on the foot. Another object of my invention is to provide an arch support which will tend to prevent varicose veins and other leg troubles. A further object is to provide an arch support which will give to the wearer the same feeling that he would have if walking barefoot in sand.

I accomplish these and other objects by the means described below and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the sole of a shoe for the right foot to which one of my arch supports is adhesively secured;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view, similar to Fig. 1, but showing my arch support formed integral with the inner sole of the shoe;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation view of a shoe for the right foot showing my arch support in dotted outline;

Fig. 4 is a section of Fig. 3 in the plane 4 4; Vand Fig. 5 is a section of Fig. 2 in the plane 5-5.

Referring to the drawing, and lirst to Fig. 1, l1 indicates the sole of a shoe which, on the inner edge of the shank, is straight between the heel portion and the sole portion. Z is my arch support which is adhesively secured to the sole of the shoe. ably formed of a soft rubber although it may be formed of a synthetic resin or any other suitable material.

In Figs. 2, 3 is the inner sole of a shoe which is preferably formed of soft rubber and having my arch support 4 formed integral therewith.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 4, y1 is the outer sole of the shoe and 2 is my arch support which is adhesively secured to the sole, as indicated at 5. Here the inner sole 601:' the shoe overlies the arch support 2 and the upper side of the sole 1. 7 and 8 are the outer sides of the shoe which are stitched to the sole 1 as shown at 9 and 10. It will thus be seen that the shoe has an The arch support is prefer` ICC outturned upper secured to the sole, and having a straight vertical portion secured to the sole along the straight shank portion.

In all cases the bottom 11 of my arch support is substantially a plane surface; the side 12. thereof is substantially normal to the plane of the base 11; and the edge 13 of the base is straight. Y

In all shoes of the present type, so far as I am aware, the inner edge of the outer sole in the shank portion between the heel and the sole portion of the shoe is curved so that it does not form a substantial support for the foot. By forming the soles of the shoes to which my arch support is to be attached straight on the inner edge thereof between the heel portion and the sole portion I form a very stable base for the arch support.

While I have described my invention in its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the words which I have used are words of description rather than of limitation and that changes, within the purview of the appended claim, may be made without departing from the true scope and spirit of my invention in its broader aspects.

What I claim is:

A shoe having an outer sole with the inner edge of the shank portion being straight only between the forward edge of the heel and the rear of the ball of the sole; an out-turned upper securedrto said sole, and having a straight vertical portion secured to said sole along said straight shank portion; an arch support secured in said shank portion only in said shoe and having a plane bottom with one edge thereof being straight and disposed parallel to said straight portion of said outer sole; and a straight side wall for said arch support, including said edge, being normal to the plane bottom of said support, said side wall being of substantial height, extending upwardly to approximately the instep Zone of said shoe, and the exposed arch portion for the inside of the shoe between the plane bottom and straight side wall being concaved from a point beginning at a median line along the inner sole and curving upwardly to said instep zone whereby to counteract distortion of the shoe, and inward tipping and bulging of the foot and shoe.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 19,203 Waksmundzka June 5, 1934 1,845,934 Piekenbrock Feb. 16, 1932 2,097,759 Ehrlich Nov. 2, 1937 2,237,945 Minor Apr. 8, 1941 2,732,636 Amico Ian. 31, 1956 2,782,532 Schipper Feb. 26, 1957 2,790,254 Burns Apr. 30, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 398,788 France Apr. 2, 1909 1,005,398 France Dec. 19, 1951 

